The AAA Major Rookie Peterborough Tigers successfully defended their 2017 Cubs Classic title this past weekend in Cambridge.  The Tigers had a perfect record in the tournament at 5-0 and beat 2017 Ontario AAA runner-up East York in the Championship Game to win the 2018 Classic.

The opening game of the tournament on Friday night was a slug fest against Kitchener.  The teams went back and forth through the first half of the game before the Tigers took over and shut the door to earn an 18-10 victory.  The offense was led by game MVP, Lincoln Rose who had two extra base hits.

On Saturday, Peterborough faced league rival Whitby and prevailed with a 13-5 win.  Strong outfield play by Jack Philips set the tone for the Tigers.   Jack Hatton had a multi-hit game and played heads up defense at catcher to earn MVP and send the Tigers to 2-0.

On Saturday night, the Tigers battled unbeaten Waterloo under the lights.  Waterloo jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st and seemed in control with a 6-2 lead later on.  However, Peterborough’s defense clamped down with Noah Stanley and Beau Marshall combining for several key outs up the middle.  Stretches by Brett Crowley and Cole Cavanagh at first base helped preserve a 9-8 victory for Peterborough after Lucas Cavanagh sparked the offense with a pair of extra base hits, earning game MVP.  The win clinched 1st place for Peterborough and setup a semi-final game vs host Cambridge.

Saturday also saw the Tigers participate in the annual Cubs Classic Skills Competition.  The boys finished 1st in the team hardest throw competition.  Cole Cavanagh (54 mph), Ayden Turner (53 mph), Jack Philips (52 mph) and Jack Hatton (47 mph) participated in the event, totaling 206 mph for the team.  In the team running and infield throwing events, the Tigers finished 3rd, making them the only team to finish top-3 in all events.

In the semi-final, Peterborough’s bats came alive.  Extra base hits by Lucas Cavanagh, Tyler Crawford, Philips, Turner, Hatton and Marshall started the offense and clutch hitting by Thomas Dalliday with three 2-out RBI blew the game open.  The Tigers won 15-3 and advanced to the final to face 2017 Ontario AAA runner-up, East York.  Dalliday was named game MVP.

The Championship game was the best effort of the weekend for Peterborough.  They took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but East York threatened in the bottom half.  Garrett Jones made 2 outfield assists in the inning to stall the East York attack.  In the top of the 2nd, Peterborough put up 7 runs on 8 consecutive hits and grabbed control of the game.  A diving catch by Dalliday in the 4th put an exclamation point on a great defensive effort as the Tigers defended their 2017 Cubs Classic title with a 13-4 victory over East York.  Lucas Cavanagh continued to lead the way, bringing great energy on defense and timely hitting.  He was named tournament MVP.

The players, coaching staff and parents want to thank Berardi Bros Plumbing, Peterborough Kia and Ricky’s All Day Grill for continued support of the team. 

The boys returns to EOBA league action this Thursday night in Oshawa.  Next home game for the Tigers is Saturday, June 2nd @ 12pm at East City Bowl.